Strategic Meeting TechBlog & Podcast

On this weeks podcast we catch up with Roger Rickard, professional speaker and advocacy consultant to the meetings and exhibitions industry. He's the founder of "Voices in Advocacy", and you can learn much more about his work with industry groups via his website: RogerRickard.com

We talked in depth about an industry initiative headed by IAEE (the International Association of Exhibitions and Events). They've created a broad coalition of exhibition industry supporters to advocate for the industry via the website: Exhibitions Mean Business. Since launching in 2011 they've generated over 750 million impressions, 2600 media impressions and a total of over 70 million dollars in publicity.

For the past three years they've sponsored an annual Exhibitions Day where industry members can meet with their representatives in Washington DC to advocate for the industry. They've also created an Advocacy Center to provide information on pending legislation and convenient ways to reach out to your elected representatives.

​On the podcast, Roger provides a wealth of information about current issues that can affect the meetings industry and all of us.

On today's Hall of Leaders edition of the podcast we talk with Colleen Rickenbacher of Colleen Rickenbacher, Inc and The Global Protocol, Etiquette & Civility Academy.

Colleen is being honored at the CIC Hall of Leaders Celebration coming up in October in Las Vegas. We talk about her history and background; including her transition from event planner to become an author, speaker and industry expert on etiquette and protocol.

She's the author of four books: Be On Your Best Business BehaviorBe On Your Best Cultural BehaviorThe Big Book of People Skills Games (International)Be On Your Best Teenage Book

And, she devotes a significant amount of her time working with prison and juvenile programs in the Dallas area to help both of those groups better transition into the workforce. She's also a mentor to numerous students and others in the meetings and events industry.
​
You can join Colleen and her fellow 2016 honorees on October 18th at the Jewel Nightclub at Aria in Las Vegas for the Hall of Leaders Celebration.

We discussed his history and background that brought him to the industry, how he moved from law enforcement into facilities management and then to Andrew Bartlett and later GES for the past 23 years.

Jack is a PCMA Education Foundation Trustee and has been very active in PCMA, the Convention Industry Council and numerous other vital industry groups and initiatives in the Chicago and nationally over the past twenty years. We look back at the history of the industry as well as forward to the future as he's honored for his years of work advancing the meetings and events industry.

You can join Jack and all the other honorees on October 18th at the Jewel Nightclub at Aria in Las Vegas for the 2016 Hall of Leaders Celebration.

On today's podcast we talk with Lee Ann Benavidez, VP of Sales Operations for Hyatt Hotel Corporation. (Or visit, Hyatt Meetings & Events) Lee Ann will be part of an all-star panel representing many of the major hotel brands at the upcoming CMP Conclave in Baltimore. She and the rest of the panel will be taking part in a session called: "Trends and Shifts in Hotel Sales Landscapes".

Today we chatted about the shifts in technology and how planners and their hotel sales counterparts are all learning to adjust and adapt to the changes that touch the processes of booking space and managing an event. We consider some of the ways that technology can provide helpful data to save time and costs while still honoring the traditional relationship model between planners and suppliers that is so valued in our industry.

We touch upon concessions and negotiations with your hotel partners. And, we also spend some time on safety, security and contingencies and how the changes that occur around us have touched the meetings industry. Including a bit about how each property deals with unique sets of conditions unique to their location when planning for the safety of their guests and attendees.

Her session, "Budget-Driven Meeting Planning: Contracts, Expenses and Your Career" is a terrific overview of how planners can look at their events with a budgetary perspective at the forefront of their thinking. Flawless logistics are no longer the measure of a successful meeting. And, with a greater focus in organizations on the budgetary side of an event; to progress your career and be more valuable to your company, you need to be able to work comfortably within the budget realm.

Janee will offer practical advice she's found for cost savings, as well as guidance for setting up a budget template and making well considered projections of possible variable expense areas of your event. There's still time to join us in Baltimore at the CMP Conclave, September 16-18.

​On today's podcast we talk with Carol Norfleet, MBA, CMP, DMCP of Destination Nashville about her pre-conferece session at the upcoming CMP Conclave in Baltimore. Carol's session is a workshop that will bring together planner and supplier CMP's to begin the process of revising the legacy documents of APEX that need to be refreshed and updated.

APEX is an initiative of the CIC that promotes the development and implementation of industry-wide accepted practices to create and enhance efficiency throughout the meetings and events industry. It's vital that the APEX be updated to maintain it's relevancy and usefulness. Amongst the topics to be considered in the session are: Event Specification Guide, Housing & Registration Guide, Site Profiles Guide and Post Event Reporting Guide.

​There's still time to join us in Baltimore for the annual CMP Conclave on September 16-18!

On today's Hall of Leaders edition of the podcast we get to chat with Richard Aaron, MFA, CESP Emeritus ofBiz Bash. Richard is being honored at theCIC Hall of Leaders Celebrationthat's coming up in October in Las Vegas.

We discussed Richard's history and background that brought him to the industry, how his broadway and entertainment career eventually led him to producing corporate events for a "who's who" of major companies in the 1980's and 1990's. Then, his move into the burgeoning internet by joining BizBash as they were being launched.

Richard is a passionate teacher and we spent some time talking about his classes and his goals in training the next generation of industry professionals. We also look at some of the interesting new trends in the industry related to things like festivals and how they can influence corporate meetings.

​You can join Richard and all the honorees on October 18th at the Jewel Nightclub at Aria in Las Vegas for the 2016 Hall of Leaders Celebration.

​Our guest today on the podcast is Jim Clarke, CAE; the Senior Vice President, Public Policy at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). Jim's will be leading a session at the upcoming CMP Conclave in Baltimore called: "Meetings in the Crosshairs - Current Legislation and issues affecting your events." We previewed some of the major issues that he will cover in the session and bring some attention to topics that have the potential to significantly effect the meetings industry.

First up we look at a proposed overtime rule revision that will go into effect on December first of this year and impact organizations nationally by changing the salary level of exempt employees. There's a potential compromise bill that could alter this rule and it's very important that as an industry we let our representatives know of our support. To that end, and as mentioned in the podcast, here's a link to find your Congressional Representative: United States House of Representatives

We also discussed recent ASAE Board Policy enacted on the subject of Diversity and Inclusion as it relates to our industry and actions like recently passes RFRA laws in some states.

​Each of these topics has significant impact on the meetings and events industry. If you're interested in learning more, you can attend Jim's session at the CMP Conclave in Baltimore coming up later this month. If you can't attend you can learn more about the work ASAE is doing on our behalf at their site: The Power of A. You can also find out specific ways to become more involved in advocating and advancing our industry.